Double Fault

An ardent middle-ranked professional tennis player, Willy Novinsky, meets her match in Eric Oberdorf, the handsome rogue she drubs in a pick-up game in Manhattan's Riverside Park. Eric is charming in defeat, and his casual confidence takes her in. Low-ranked but untested, Eric aims to make his mark on the international tennis circuit. Willy discovers compatibility spiced with friendly rivalry and her first passion outside tennis. They marry. Their conjugal life starts well on the Upper West Side of New York, but competition over who can rise to the top first intensifies. Willy sustains a knee injury, leading to her ranking dropping as Eric becomes the rising star. Ultimately, Eric plays in the U.S. Open. Willy, anguished by her setbacks and her husband's success, faces a quiet tragedy.